Advocates push for bill allowing MassHealth seniors to keep thousands in savings
Photo I Alison Kuznitz/SHNS
Advocates with Mass Senior Action showed their support for a slate of bills on the agenda for a Joint Committee on Health Care Financing hearing on Tuesday.
Dozens of seniors filled a state capitol auditorium Tuesday to plead with lawmakers to expand MassHealth eligibility for older Bay Staters by raising the limit on assets they may keep by thousands of dollars.
Hours after the U.S. Senate passed a reconciliation bill that could gut federal health care dollars flowing to the states, advocates with the Massachusetts Senior Action Council pressed the Legislature to support bills that would raise the asset limit for individual residents ages 65 and older on MassHealth coverage from $2,000 to $10,000. MassHealth intended to adjust the asset limit this year and potentially bypass the legislative process, but officials had to pause their plan over Medicaid uncertainty, a top advocate later told the News Service.
The proposals from Rep. Steven Ultrino and Sen. Jason Lewis (H 1414 / S 879) would also raise the asset limit for married couples from $3,000 to $20,000, and exempt the value of life insurance policies from counting toward MassHealth eligibility.
MassHealth asset limits have not changed since 1989, said 92-year-old Edna Pruce, president of Mass Senior Action's executive committee.
"Thirty-six years ago, bread was 59 cents and eggs were just 95 cents. Costs have risen over time, and the asset limit must increase accordingly," Pruce testified virtually at a Joint Committee on Health Care Financing Committee hearing. "And to make matters worse, Massachusetts still counts life insurance as if it were cash in the bank. This leaves low-income seniors with a tough choice: receiving health coverage or keep the small savings and life insurance they have paid into throughout their life."
Committee co-chair Sen. Cindy Friedman told Pruce her "heart dropped" when she did not initially see the advocate sitting in the hearing room.
"It's so good to see you…You are a model for all of us, so we'll keep fighting with you, and you keep fighting," Friedman said as she looked toward the livestream.
Oftentimes, seniors in need of long-term must spend down their savings in order to qualify for MassHealth, including those who are otherwise unable to afford certain home care services or nursing home care.
That is the reality Mass Senior Action member Sarah Blakeney, who is 98 years old, is facing. Blakeney, of Milton, said she needs more help to continue living at home.
"I don't have much, and what I do have is well under the limit we are asking for in H 1414 and S 879," Blakeney said. "But I ask you, would you feel safe if you (were) only allowed to have $2,000 in savings? I know I will not, but for now, these are the rules. I only hope you will change the rules for those that follow me. I urge you to take action to support seniors like me to age in dignity."
The legislation cleared the panel last session but died in the House Ways and Means Committee.
"Even as we face devastating cuts to the Medicaid program, adjusting the asset limit would have a minimal impact on the budget," Carolyn Villers, executive director of Mass Senior Action, said.
Villers said seniors who could benefit from the change already qualify for the Medicare Savings Program (MSP), including the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program, which covers individuals' premiums and other health care costs.
"There really is a minimal kind of difference between the cost for the state, between the QMB program and full MassHealth coverage. But it does come with more comprehensive care and kind of access to some of the enhanced benefits through scope, programs and things of that nature," Villers said in response to a question from Friedman clarifying the cost.
After her testimony, Villers told the News Service that Mass Senior Action secured a "commitment from MassHealth" during "stakeholder meetings" to raise the asset limit this year. Officials then halted their proposal in response to actions from Washington, she said.
Villers said she was in contact with Assistant Secretary for MassHealth Mike Levine about the matter and other officials.
"It can be done through regulation, but it can also be done through legislation," Villers said. "Again, this is something that we've worked on for a number of years."
A MassHealth official, asked for confirmation about the agency's plan, told the News Service that Healey's fiscal 2026 budget had called for an increase to the MassHealth asset limit. She wanted to raise the limit to $5,000 for individuals and $7,500 for couples, as well as eliminate up to $10,000 in life insurance policies from eligibility determinations, according to a budget brief from the administration.
The MassHealth official, broadly citing federal Medicaid cuts and changes to the state budget, said the administration is "reviewing all proposed Medicaid spending and policy changes." The official added that "MassHealth eligibility changes are subject to federal and state approval processes and funding."
A Senate Ways and Means spokesman told the News Service the compromise budget gives MassHealth the flexibility to increase the asset limit, but does not explicitly require MassHealth to do so.
Healey has until July 10 to take action on the budget. Healey proposed funding MassHealth at $22.6 billion, while the compromise budget would invest $22.1 billion.
State officials last year removed the asset limit for MSP to expand access to health care for older residents, and in 2023 increased the income limit for the program to 225% of the federal poverty level, according to the administration. Mass Senior Action advocates told lawmakers Tuesday they want to see that level boosted to 300% of the federal poverty level under other bills (H 1413 / S 880) filed by Ultrino and Lewis. That legislation also made it to the House Ways and Means Committee last session.
Valerie Ann Bonds, president of the Cambridge-Somerville chapter of Mass Senior Action, noted older adults struggle to navigate challenges around their independence and dependence.
"The concern arises when we rely on others, such as legislators, who have the sole responsibility for making decisions that impact the quality of life for seniors like me and others," Bonds said. "The bills before you that affect the senior community, our quality of life, is in your hands and hinges on your seal of approval. We want, we deserve and we need this, along with the dignity and respect that accompany being an elderly person."
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